What is

underwater

hockey?

Underwater hockey is a sport that is played on the bottom of a swimming pool. The objective of the game is to shoot a puck across the pool's floor into the other team's goal while holding one's breath. Players wear masks, snorkels, fins and protective gloves, and use short sticks to pass and shoot the puck. Underwater hockey, also known as Octopush, became a popular sport in many countries around the world, with international competitions held regularly. Underwater hockey is a physically demanding sport that requires a combination of strong physical fitness, skill and strategy, as players must navigate the underwater environment and work together as a team to score goals and defend their own goal.

"It is not the team with the best players that wins.
It's the players with the best team!”

How to play?

Underwater hockey is played at the bottom of a swimming pool with a team of ten players at each side. Six active players and four players on the side that can sub in at any time to replace a tired teammate. The game starts with a "face-off" at each end of the pool, where the puck is placed on the bottom, in the middle of the pool. Players try to push it to their own teammates while holding their breath at the bottom. The objective of the game is to score goals by pushing the puck into the opposing team's goal.

“The strength of the team is each member, and the strength of each member is the TEAM"

"Coming together is the beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success."

General Rules

Players wear fins, masks, snorkels to help them move quickly around the pool and see the action.
Players also have a protective glove and a small playing stick to swim the puck and pass to teammates.
Each team has ten players. Six active players, with four subs on the sidelines. Players can sub at any time to keep players fresh.
Players must hold their breath and use their snorkels to breathe while playing.
Players can only use one hand to hold their stick, and cannot use their hands to touch the puck.
Players wear a swim cap and swimsuit to protect themselves and to help identity which team they are on (Black or White).
Underwater hockey is a non contact sport. Players cannot use their bodies to block other players and must only attempt to play the puck.
Due to the high intensity nature of the sport, competitive games are generally short consisting of two halves, each lasting 15 minutes with 3 minutes for half time.
The team with the most goals at the end of the game wins. The scores are often really low numbers like 1‐2; 4‐3; 1‐3 etc.
Club practices are often much longer than competitive games where players pace themselves over the course of 1 hour or more.